1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to air conditioners and in particular to the condenser section of an air conditioner to be used in a windy and dusty environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the typical air conditioning unit, refrigerant is circulated through a condenser coil to dissipate heat generated in the cooling cycle to the atmosphere. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,690, the condenser generally includes a plurality of refrigerant coils mounted within a plurality of spaced fins between which a stream of ambient air is circulated to carry away the heat in the refrigerant. While this type of arrangement has proven to be very reliable in normal circumstances, when it is used in desert areas where sand storms having winds of 20-80 mph are common, dust and sand tend to accumulate in the housing and between the fins and plug up the condenser, thus rendering it ineffective. Experience has indicated that one of the reasons this occurs is because the cooling air stream is turned as it flows through the condenser section of the air conditioner. More particularly, each time the air stream is turned or decreases velocity, some of the suspended particles in the flow are separated from it by inertial separation or settling so that after a period of time an accumulation of dust and dirt builds up in the condenser. In most areas this type of buildup has not been critical since the accumulations have been small and easily cleaned out during routine servicing of the unit. However, when this type of arrangement is used in desert areas where the air conditioner is often operated during sand storms, sand accumulates in the condenser very rapidly and requires daily, if not more frequent, cleaning of the condenser to assure its proper operation.